THE INDIANS OF CAPE FLATTERY. 63 



spirit. At such times they are supposed to receive some manifestation which guides 

 them in their after life. This ceremony is performed as follows : The candidate 

 retires to some place of concealment near the salt water, where he bathes himself, 

 remaining till he is pretty well chilled ; then returns to his hiding place, and warms 

 himself by rubbing his body and limbs with bark or cedar twigs, and again 

 returns to the water ; keeping up this alternate bathing and friction day and night, 

 without eating, and with no interval of sleep. Both body and mind becoming thus 

 exhausted, he lies down in a sort of trance, during which, in his disordered fancy, 

 he sees visions and receives revelations. What he sees he makes known to no one, 

 but ever after addresses himself in secret to that being that has presented itself to 

 him, whether in form of bird, beast, or fish, though the animal representing this 

 guardian spirit is sometimes indicated by carvings or paintings made by the Indian. 

 Such animals as would be most likely to come around him while thus alone are 

 owls, wolves, minks, and mice, during the night ; or eagles, crows, ravens, blue-jays, 

 cranes, elk, deer, or seals, during the day. These are ah 1 considered tamanawas 

 animals, some possessing more powerful influence than others; and, as an Indian 

 could scarcely be several days or nights without seeing something of the kind, their 

 ceremonies are generaUy successful in obtaining a manifestation. They do not ima 

 gine, however, that the animal they may see is the Guardian Spirit, but only the form 

 in which he shows himself. Of the above, owls, bears, and wolves seem to be those 

 most generally seen, and heads of these are more frequently carved than any others. 

 To illustrate their superstitious belief in animals connected with their Guardian 

 Spirit, I will relate an incident told me by Captain John, one of the chiefs. About 

 three years ago he had lost the use of one of his feet, probably from paralysis, but 

 which he attributed to a &quot;skookoom,&quot; or evil spirit, entering into it one day 

 while he was bathing. He had been confined to his house for several months, 

 and was reduced to a skeleton. I saw him during this sickness, and thought he 

 could not recover. One pleasant day, however, according to his account, he 

 managed to crawl to a brook near his house, and, while bathing, heard a rustling 

 sound in the air, at which he became frightened, and covered his face with his 

 blanket, whereupon a raven alighted within a few feet of him and uttered a hoarse 

 croak. He then peeped through a corner of his blanket, and saw the raven with its 

 head erect, its feathers bristled, and a great swelling in its throat. After two or 

 three unsuccessful efforts, it finally threw lip a piece of bone about three inches 

 long, then uttering another croak it flew away. Remaining quiet a few minutes, 

 till he was satisfied that the raven had gone, he picked up the bone, which he 

 gravely informed me was of the Ha-hek-to-ak. He hid this bone near by, and 

 returned to his lodge, and, after relating the occurrence, was informed by the 

 Indian doctors that it was a medicine sent to him by his tamanawas, and this proved 

 to be true, as he entirely recovered in three days. I knew that this man had 

 recovered very speedily, but do not know the actual cause. He says he shall 

 keep the bone hid till his son is old enough to kill whales, when he will give it 

 to him to take in his canoe, as a powerful medicine to insure success. The tale 

 of the raven alighting near him is not improbable, as ravens as well as crows are 

 very plenty and very tame ; nor is it impossible that the raven might have had 



